FSU Finishes 32nd In Directors' Cup

Jul 10, 2009

The Ferris State University Athletics Department placed 32nd
overall nationally with 391.25 total points in the 2008-09
Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Division II final standings.

The 2008-09 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup winners were
announced recently at the National Association of Collegiate
Directors of Athletics' (NACDA) 44th Annual Convention in Orlando,
Fla. Grand Valley State University captured its sixth consecutive
Learfield Sports Directors' Cup for NCAA Division II with 1014.50
points while Minnesota State totaled 800.25 points to place second
and Central Missouri garnered third place with a 766.0 points
total.

Developed as a joint effort between USA TODAY and
NACDA, the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup program is the only
all-sports competition that recognizes the institution in each of
the four categories (NCAA Division I, II, III and NAIA) with the
best overall athletics program. Points are awarded based on each
institution's finish in up to 14 sports -- seven women's and seven
men's.

The Bulldogs, who placed sixth in the 2008-09 Great Lakes
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Presidents' Trophy
Final Standings with 85 points, were among five GLIAC-member
schools to rank among the top 35. Besides Ferris and Grand Valley
State, Ashland claimed sixth place (613.75 pts.), Wayne State was
11th (499.0 pts.), and Findlay posted a 19th-place finish (447.50
pts.). The GLIAC was the only league in the country to both place
four teams among the top 20 and five in the top 35 overall.

The Division II listing included 234 schools that recorded at
least a single point during the 2008-09 athletics season. FSU used
a strong spring season to move into the nation's top 35 performers
after concluding the winter campaign listed 102nd overall in the
standings. Ferris recorded 291.25 points during the spring season
after scoring 40 points in the fall and 60 points for the winter
period, respectively.

This year represents the fourth time in the last five years the
Bulldogs have placed among the top 35 schools nationally. The
highest-placing ever for Ferris State was in the 2004-05 season
when the Bulldogs finished in 21st place with 387.5 total points.
Additionally, Ferris' 391.25 total points this year is the
second-best figure in school history following its 414.50 points in
2006-07 when FSU finished 28th nationally. In all, the Bulldogs
have placed in the top 40 eight times over the last 14 years.

"This a tremendous accomplishment for our entire athletics staff
to finish among the nation's top 35 programs," said FSU Athletics
Director Tom Kirinovic. "Combining this with our academic success
should make all Ferris State supporters proud of the balance that
we provide both academically and athletically.

"I congratulate our athletics department staff in finding a way
to both maximize the resources we have available in recruiting
top-notch student-athletes along with using their coaching
expertise to make these honors possible," Kirinovic added.

Learfield Sports, a leader in the collegiate sports marketplace
for almost four decades, manages the multimedia and sponsorship
rights for nearly 50 collegiate institutions. The Dallas-based
company also manages corporate partner programs for the Big Ten
Conference and the Western Athletic Conference and secures
marketing partnerships for the Black Coaches & Administrators
(BCA). Learfield Sports (learfieldsports.com) is an operating unit
of Jefferson City, Mo.-based Learfield Communications, Inc., which
made its initial foray into the world of sports marketing in 1975
as the radio rights holder for the University of Missouri, a client
still today. The 2008-09 winners in the other three divisions were
Stanford University in Division I, Williams College (Mass.) in
Division III and Azusa Pacific University (Calif.) in NAIA.

Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found on
NACDA's Web site at www.nacda.com.